The accident and emergency unit serving Haringey and Enfield is missing its waiting time targets.

North Middlesex University Hospital has failed to hit the Government’s target of 95 per cent of patients seen in under four hours for the last quarter.

But the hospital is only 0.3 per cent below the average in England, with 92.3 per cent of people arriving at A&E seen in under four hours, compared to 92.6 per cent across the country.

In the past three months, 252 people have waited more than four hours in A&E to be seen by medical staff or admitted to the hospital. The figure is 333 people lower than the previous quarter.

A total of 3,277 people visited the A&E each week, down by 571.

The national performance is the worst quarterly result since the target was introduced at the end of 2004.

A spokesman for North Middlesex University Hospital said: “Like all hospitals across the country we experienced high levels of demand over the Christmas and New Year period – more than 7,100 patients attended A&E during the final two weeks of the year and our staff copied brilliantly.

“Most of our patients were seen, treated and admitted or discharged well within the target time of four hours, and we performed very well in comparison to many other London hospitals. We are continuing to work closely with all our partners to ensure patients receive good quality and timely care.”